pepperhead212's 2024 garden

[pepperhead212]

I always try to start from cuttings, as it is much easier, but usually in early or mid October, when I have to do the cuttings, the basils don't really have many good stems to take cuttings from, so this year I started some cuttings back in late August, and had new plants by mid September, and was getting most of my basil from those plants, plus new growth all over them, to take cuttings from for the hydro. I'll have to remember to do that from now on. The epazote always has some new growth for cuttings, even when most is flowering. And with all of those, all I used to root them was tap water - changed every few days - nothing added to it.

[pepperhead212]

I got a large amount of leaves collected, and ground up today, and got my garlic and shallots covered by about 4". The rest will get saved.

The seeds are sprouting quickly in the hydroponics, though the one Thai basil cutting, is bolting, which I was afraid it might, since it started turning purple on the tip, even while rooting. So I found a totally green cutting yesterday, and stuck it in one of those coir things I am starting all those seeds in - the only empty one left. Hopefully this one won't bolt. The other basils are getting new growth, and doing fine. The lettuce germinate in less than 2 days, and most of the brassicas are just becoming visible in the holes, though the herbs are taking longer, as expected.
Lettuce, germinating after less than 2 days. 11-2 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[JayneR13]

I've found that in my hydroponics as well: lettuce germinates very quickly, herbs take much longer. And I've had more than a few that didn't germinate at all, even from fresh seed. Meh. Replant and move on, right? This is the way of gardening.

[pepperhead212]

All of the brassicas had almost every seed germinated in the hydro, and the Za'atar has some minute sprouts now.

I was going to get some more of those leaves cleaned up today, but it was windy again, and tomorrow it is supposed to be even more so, though that will be nice, given the 81° temperature forecast.

[JayneR13]

Do you do anything special to prepare your seedlings for transplant outdoors? Growing in solution is quite different from growing in soil.

[pepperhead212]

I rarely plant the same ones from the hydro to outside - I either start everything from seed, in my seed mix, or a few from cuttings, some the same things I started from cuttings for the hydro! One thing I did transplant to outside one year, and it didn't bolt the whole year, was the parsley, but other years it would bolt.

[JayneR13]

That makes sense, and that's what I do too. Hydro is hydro, garden is garden. MIGardener has some videos on growing things hydroponically, including one showing how to harden hydroponics-grown plants to outside in soil. It's complicated. I prefer simple LOL

[pepperhead212]

I got all of my plants inside today - the curry tree, makrut lime trees, and the bay laurel. A friend stopped by, to help me get that old chair out, that I gave up trying to fix (it was 17 years old, so it didn't owe me anything! ), and he helped me get those inside, which wasn't difficult, since I had stopped watering them quite a while ago, except the one watering a couple of weeks ago with the MicrobeLift solution, with Bt israelensis, to keep fungus gnats from developing. After I got them in place today, I watered everything, using 4 gallons of a fertilizer, using a dilute mix of the hydroponics MaxiGro, that I use for the hydro, then the last gallon was more of that Bt israelensis, in the upper layer of each pot.

I did very little outside today, except for bringing those plants inside!
Plants indoors for the season, 11-09 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

I turned off the water to the outside this morning, and drained the pipes, since we might be getting out first freeze of the season. And we may be getting the coldest day of the year since March, on Wednesday. It is VERY windy, with gusts to 40 mph, so all I did was bring the trash cans in, drain the pipes, and came back in!

The hydroponics is doing great - not only the cuttings, but the seedlings. The cilantro, while slower than most, is larger now than most of them. The only thing I had a problem with was Thai basil - both the first and the second cutting flowered soon after putting the cuttings in the hydro. So now I'll just have to plant a few seeds, and do it that way; slower, but I'll get the plant eventually.

I can't believe that the basil is still alive outside! Usually, my basil is the first thing to die out there - starts getting black spots, even before the first frost, but I think it's because of the moisture I usually have here, and in the low 40s this would happen, with all the dew.
The hydroponics, with the basils and the epazote growing great, from the cuttings. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[Cecenj]

So glad I read this since I live pretty close to you. It had somehow escaped me that the weather was changing! Picked a bunch of the remaining tomatoes and turned off the hose. I will eat some of the bok choi I started 3 weeks ago tonight. You and Jayne have inspired me to do a very small hydro set-up.

[JayneR13]

My hose is long put away but it wouldn't hurt to give that shutoff valve a spin! I hate burst pipes!

[pepperhead212]

The hydroponics are about on course - I usually start getting to harvest many of them the first week of December, a few before, a few slower than that. I was surprised last year how fast the Russian red kale was, compared to the rest of the brassicas, yet this year they are much slower than the bok choys and mizunas. The arugula is also lagging behind. The parsley finally came up - something that's always slow - and the Thai basil is coming up now; something I had to start by seed, since the 3 cuttings bolted.
The hydroponics plants doing well, with the parsley coming up finally. 11-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Older, skinny leafed Mizuna on right, the newer, wide leafed variety on left. 11-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[JayneR13]

Lovely! I see you plant all twelve of your pods. I find that my plants get too crowded planting only 7, but I cut and come again so perhaps mine are left longer to grow. I just replanted my twelve hole unit with six varieties of lettuce. One hasn't sprouted and needs replanting, and that will last 2-3 months before bolting. Do you cut yours all at once?

My GrowCube has mizuna and parsley. Mizuna grows well this way, as does lettuce of course. My three tomatoes in the AeroGarden have lots of fruits set but take forever to ripen. I think it's just too cold, especially after the temps drop in serious winter. But I do get some, so that's good. Cheaper than store bought and better tasting!

[pepperhead212]

Everything I have in the hydro is cut and come again, and I just keep doing that, until I see something starting to bolt, then pull it, and start another one. That lettuce variety, that I save seeds for, takes a little longer outside, in higher heat, every year, and it takes 5 or 6 months, before starting to bolt in the hydro, but I start another after maybe 3 months, just to be safe. The cilantro always bolts, fairly quickly, and I succession plant some, and I save some empty spots, and often get more empty spots, from unknown, new varieties, that don't work out.

I harvested the first fall kohlrabi outside today, and yesterday I harvested some more of that Wu Choy. I ate one of those Wu Choy leaves raw, and it tasted slightly bitter, but not nearly as bitter as some tatsoi (which it looks very similar to), that I've had in the past, but again, the cooked greens had none of that bitter flavor. It will be interesting to see how it grows in the hydroponics.
The outer leaves from 2 of the Wu Choy plants, 3rd harvest. 11-23 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Wu Choy, chopped up, and stir fried a few minutes, with some fish sauce and nam prik pao. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The finished Wu Choy, for a small side dish I ate with some leftovers. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Kolibri kohlrabi, about 4"x4"x3", largest of the bunch. 11-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Leaves from the one kolibri, 11-24 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[JayneR13]

Indeed, I find that the darker leaf greens with thick stems are better cooked than raw, no doubt about it! That's not a hard & fast rule of course, since rapini, collards, and dandelion are all better cooked than raw as well.

[pepperhead212]

Those plants in the hydroponics are doing great. The lettuce plant will soon be larger than the outside plants, and, as always, barely a blush or red, compared to the darker outside plants. Same thing with the red epazote. That thing was in the light yesterday, so I cut 2" off, but it's close to the light already. And that thing has countless "suckers" on it, as every leaf node on the first stalk had a new stem growing from it. And those 3 basils grown from cuttings - one Dolce Fresca, and two Saw Tooth basil - are growing crazy. The leaves of these get so large they look like lettuce leaf basil, but taste so much better! The Thai basil I had to start from seed, since the cuttings all bolted, so both of those have only one or two sets of leaves.
Hydroponics, 11-30. The epazote and that lettuce taking off, and the bok choy. The cilantro and parsley sort of hidden. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The basil taking off, with the Thai basil just started out, from seed. The Wu Choy has some fast growth. 11-30 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Here are those plants, just 6 days later, and that lettuce had gotten so large that I moved it over to the other tub, to an empty spot. Everything else is going crazy, too, except for the arugula, which didn't germinate twice, and that Russian kale, which seems simply stunted, while last year it was the quickest up, and the fastest growing of all the brassicas. I might plant some in that empty spot, where the lettuce was, and if it starts growing fast, replace the original one with it. Both of those bok choys are doing great, with no sign of bolting (KOW), and soon I'll have to trim that epazote, as always. Hopefully, the cilantro will last a while, before bolting.
The lettuce in the hydro, with the dill and Mizuna behind it, and just to the right, the Russian kale, which is stunted. 12-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The basil, growing back quickly, after that first harvest, and the cilantro is starting to do well. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

As always, the epazote is growing like it's on steroids! 12-7 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I had a nice day out there, as it got up to at least 59°, maybe higher, and if it wasn't so windy, I could have worn my shorts! But I wanted to cover all those SIPs I had out there - a couple of weeks ago I put almost all of them on their sides, to drain, before the freezing started, and the weather finally cooperated today, though it would have been better with a little less wind. Still, it only took a little over an hour and a half to get all those in place, and covered. That last silver tarp has enough space under it for the rest of those that I'm growing the greens in, once I harvest all those - I'll just have to watch the temps out, to see when I have to pull them.
The 3 groups of SIPs I covered today. That large silver tarp has way more room, for putting those last 5 under, once I get the greens out of them. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The senposai left on 3 plants in the back, that squirrels had chewed up, but they recovered some. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

That harvested Koquie bok choy, 12-8, almost 30 oz. No buds yet, but if left out, would probably bolt soon. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Two more of those bok choy, plus that one I harvested. That koquie variety is supposed to be heat resistant, but is also cold resistant, since it has been into the mid 20s a few times already, which also hasn't bothered those other plants, or a a tub of kohlrabi out there.
Those Koquie bok choy, the one on the right I harvested, as it is just hinting to bolting. About 60 days, 12-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Wu Choy, under the Choy Sum, all these harvested several times, and growing back. 12-8 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

5 Merlot Napa cabbage plants in an Earthbox, with one stunted kohlrabi, from being shadowed. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[pepperhead212]

Today I harvested the last of those greens outside, partly because it was nice out there - 63° and sunny - but mainly because they are forecasting the coldest nights of the season this weekend, one predicting as low as 12°, but others forecasting 16 or 17°, which is still too low for most. The Napa I had the most of now (kept 3 of them, and 2 went to my friend), though those were all one day harvests, along with the kohlrabi, whereas the senposai (the most this season, as usual), bok choy, wu choy, and choy sum were all cut and come again, though those bok choys are almost full sized, and you wouldn't think any had been removed before! I took over a 13 gal trash bag to the friends that I took those greens to at Thanksgiving, and I told her she can sample all these now, and see what she wants to grow next season!

The end of the greens, for 2024, plus another large trash bag I took over to a friend's house. by pepperhead212, on Flickr



The Merlot Napa cabbage, I harvested, along with the rest of the brassicas, on 12-17, due to the upcoming cold weather. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[JayneR13]

Sadly, every gardening season must end! Those are lovely cabbages btw.